Beef rings are cooperative groups of six to twenty-four farms, with each member of the cooperative being required to supply one animal over the course of the summer to the cooperative for slaughter they are either done locally on the farm or at a

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

at the member's expense.

History

Beef rings were common among

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n farmers who had no means for

refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

of meat until the beginning of the 20th century. Although pigs were small enough that a smoked

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

carcass could be consumed by a single farming family before the meat spoiled, the same was not true of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

, and smoked or salted beef was not popular in any case. After obtaining the slaughtered steer, the meat would be distributed among the members of the cooperative, providing them with a

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patties, ...

, a

roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization ...

, and a boiling

joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...

each week. By slaughtering each animal in sequence, the cooperative ensured that all members received fresh meat throughout the summer. Distributions were weighed, so that each member received a fair share of the meat. Beef rings died out for several reasons, including technological advances in refrigeration, greater economic prosperity for farmers, greater independence, and the ability of farmers to buy meat at butchers' shops rather than slaughter and store it themselves.

References

Rural community development Meat industry {{history-stub